CENX vs QQQ: Correlation
Century Aluminum Company (CENX) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.40.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are CENX and QQQ?
On 3 years of weekly data the CENX/QQQ correlation comes out at 0.40, moderate. Lately the two have drifted apart, with the 1-year correlation at 0.29 versus 0.40 over 3 years. The 5-year figure is 0.41, and annualized covariance runs at 528.1 %².
Out of 12 assets tracked against CENX, QQQ lands near the bottom at #8. The last year tells two different stories: CENX led by 75.9 percentage points, +102.2% for CENX against +26.3% for QQQ. Note the risk asymmetry: CENX runs 3.4 times the annualized volatility of the other leg, so equal-weighting the two is not an equal-risk position.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
CENX vs QQQ: side by side
| CENX (Century Aluminum Company) | QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +102.2% | +26.3% |
| 5-year return | +270.4% | +95.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 67.1% | 19.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 2.12 | 1.28 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -42.8% | -22.8% |
| Market cap | $4.5B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 7.9 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.44% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.18% |
| Assets under management | – | $452.8B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · US Growth & Tech |
QQQ is a Large Growth fund from Invesco: $452.8B under management, 104 holdings, a 0.18% expense ratio, a 0.44% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | CENX | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -50.6% | -32.6% |
| 2023 | +48.4% | +54.9% |
| 2024 | +50.1% | +25.6% |
| 2025 | +115.0% | +20.8% |
| 2026 | +17.1% | +17.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are CENX and QQQ good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.40, CENX and QQQ keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between CENX and QQQ?
The CENX/QQQ correlation stands at 0.40 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.29, 5 years: 0.41), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is QQQ a good diversifier for CENX?
Reasonably. At 0.40, CENX and QQQ keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.40 mean?
Correlation ranges from −1 to +1. Values near +1 mean two assets move together, near 0 that they move independently, and negative values that they tend to move in opposite directions. It measures co-movement, not performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/cenx-vs-qqq.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/cenx-vs-qqq/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: CENX correlations · QQQ correlations